What happened to Girls Gone Wild and its founder? All to know about the brand’s collapse and controversies
The three-part limited television series, Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story was released on Peacock on December 3, 2024. The series has once again brought the titular controversial adult entertainment franchise and its creator, Joe Francis, into the spotlight. It has sparked discussions about the incidents surrounding the franchise, which resulted in multiple lawsuits and its eventual downfall.
Additionally, the show has initiated conversations about Francis, who is reportedly residing in Mexico as of now. He has been accused of various misdemeanors, including using coercive methods to obtain content from those involved and behaving inappropriately towards multiple individuals.
Trigger Warning: This article contains a few distressing details that might be triggering to a few. Please read at your discretion.
The controversial nature of the Girls Gone Wild franchise
From 1997 onwards, popular television channels were filled with late-night infomercials featuring young women in public spaces participating in various "fun activities" for the cameras. These activities included women lifting their tops and flashing their bodies, as well as being intimate with strangers or people they knew. On-screen, these women typically engaged in these acts in exchange for small gifts such as hats, candy, or sometimes even money.
Naturally, these infomercials quickly gained popularity, and the encounters became known as Girls Gone Wild. The television versions of these women engaging in "wild acts" were usually censored. However, the infomercials advertised that uncensored versions of these videos were available on their website, either through downloadable links, streaming options, or DVDs.
These videos gained immense popularity over the years with even celebrities such as Eminem and Snoop Dogg stepping in to promote them. However, from 2002 onwards things started to go haywire for Joe Francis, the man behind the videos, as news regarding lawsuits started to pour in.
Some of the lawsuits from individuals featured in Girls Gone Wild's past videos mentioned that they were filmed without proper consent. Some others stated that Francis and his coworkers used tactical ways of manipulation to convince them to feature in the videos.
Subsequent lawsuits claimed that some of the women featured in the videos were underage at the time of filming, raising ethical concerns among the public about these activities. Although Francis and his team paid significant amounts of money to address these lawsuits (some of which found Francis guilty while others did not), the financial burden ultimately drained the company of their resources.
According to Bloomberg, by 2013, Francis' company had filed for bankruptcy. In 2014, the company was sold to Bang Bros, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2022 a fresh set of accusations were laid against Joe Francis following the release of an episode of Rich & Shameless on TNT in which he was accused of se*ual misconduct by various individuals.
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About the Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story
The official synopsis for the show details everything that needs to be known before stepping into watching the series. It briefly speaks about the climate of the emergence of Girls Gone Wild as well as its rise to popularity. It mentions:
"Before the spread of social media and easy access to online p*rn, Joe Francis' multi-million dollar "Girls Gone Wild" franchise, a series of tapes sold on late night television that featured young spring breakers baring their b*easts for T-shirts and hats, had a shocking grip on popular culture."
The synopsis also highlights the contents of the docuseries while mentioning that it contains some of the rare facets of Francis' life. It says:
"Including Francis’ first in-depth, in-person, on-the-record interview with a journalist in almost a decade, as well as exclusive access to his former employees, enemies, and survivors, Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story offers an astonishing and wide-ranging account of a man whose impact on American culture cannot be overstated, whose alleged sins are numerous, and who now lives in exile on a sprawling estate in Mexico amidst the rubble of his once mighty empire."
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Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story is currently available for streaming on Peacock.
